Wishin' and Hopin'
by Durgas Dragon
Summary: "Unfortunately—because Wasp was prone to letting her enthusiasm take over—she got overexcited, blew the whole thing out of proportion, took it out of context, applied the wrong social filter to it, and texted 99.9% of the campus." In which Wasp thinks that Bucky's going to ask Steve to the upcoming school dance, Steve is desperately waiting for it to happen, and Bucky has no clue


**Wishin' and Hopin'**

 _ **Disclaimer: This is a purely fan-made piece that is using the world and characters from Marvel's Cinematic**_ _ **Universe/Captain America and TinyCo's**_ **Avenger's Academy** _ **, and is made entirely for enjoyment. No financial gain has been made in the making of this piece. All other situations and plot developments are mine.**_

 _ **Summary: "Unfortunately—because Wasp was prone to letting her enthusiasm take over—she got overexcited, blew the whole thing out of proportion, took it out of context, applied the wrong social filter to it, and texted 99.9% of the campus."**_

 _ **In which Wasp thinks that Bucky's going to ask Steve to the upcoming school dance, Steve is desperately waiting for it to happen, and Bucky has no clue.**_

 _ **Author's Note: Possible out-of-characterness and un-beta'd. First in the**_ **At the Academy** _ **series.**_

 _ **Constructive Criticism is always welcomed**_

 _ **Published: 21 December 2017**_

 _ **Rating: T**_

 **To be fair, Bucky didn't realise what he'd done at the time. It was just an offhanded comment to Wasp. Unfortunately—because Wasp was prone to letting her enthusiasm take over—she got overexcited, blew the whole thing out of proportion, took it out of context, applied the wrong social filter to it, and texted 99.9% of the campus.**

 **The first inkling Bucky got that all was not what it should be in his world was when Natasha showed up in the Friendship Swamp (Wasp named it because all the hanging out that seemed to happen there) where he had been getting feedback from Man-Thing on his newest song. She gave him a hard look and said "I already knew and I'm glad you not only moved on but figured it out, but you couldn't tell me yourself?"**

 **He blinked. "Tell you what?" Damn it, did he forget a lunch or something with her? He** _ **really**_ **wished his memory was better.**

 **She crossed her arms. "Next time, I'd rather you didn't use other people to announce your news. Just come up to me and say it." She walked off.**

 **Bucky looked over at Man-Thing. "What just happened?"**

 **Man-thing burbled, sounding as perplexed as a gigantic humanoid mass of plants and mud could.**

 **Confused, Bucky returned to his music.**

 **The next thing was when Iron Man walked right up to him as he was returning to his dorm so he could put his guitar away. "Buckaroo! I heard the news! Congratulations! I'm a little miffed you didn't think of me, but hey, we all can't have the world's best taste, am I right? Then again, if you did, I would have to turn you down and I think the ladies might not like it and I like them too much to have that happen. But still! Good luck. And if you need a tailor, I know people. Later!"**

 **With that, he blasted out of the quad.**

 **Bucky blinked. "What. The hell."**

 **No answer came.**

 **Even more befuddled, he put his guitar away and was heading to the Robo Dojo to do something by himself that made sense when Ms Marvel ran up to him, Wiccan behind her.**

 **"I just wanted to say," she gushed breathlessly as she skidded to a stop in front of him, "that what you're doing is** _ **so**_ **exciting and cute! This is even more exciting than American Marvel! I'm going to have to come up with name for you both! And my newest fanfic is going to be AWESOME!"**

 **"Uh," Bucky replied intelligently.**

 **"It's so nice to have someone else on campus, you know?" Wiccan said. "Teddy and I can't wait to see you both there! It's going to be great!" He waved and then they both darted off, giggling happily.**

 **"What?" Bucky asked a few seconds too late to get anything useful out of them.**

 **His phone kept buzzing with encouraging texts, but nothing told Bucky what the hell was actually going on. Frustrated, he punched robots until he felt better.**

 **Steve was waiting outside when he was finished. The blond inexplicitly blushed madly when he saw Bucky, but he looked excited and hopeful. "Hey, Buck."**

 **"Hey."**

 **Steve just** _ **stood**_ **there, clearly waiting for something from Bucky, his blue eyes expectant and eager. Bucky opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but then Coulson stopped by them. He gave Bucky a slightly murderous glare before starting to fawn over Steve.**

 **"I'll catch you later, okay?" Bucky said, not quite sure what the hell had gotten into Coulson and having more important things to worry about.**

 **Steve looked incredibly disappointed for a moment. "Yeah, okay." Then suddenly, he brightened up. "OH! Yeah! Yeah, definitely!" He beamed at Bucky and ignored Coulson for a moment. Bucky left feeling even more confused.**

 **Enchantress tried to infatuate him as he walked by and Loki just snickered knowingly. Maria Hill rolled her eyes, but told him to 'go for it'. The Black Knight paused long enough to yell "'Tis noble and brave doings, Barnes! Good luck!" before galloping off with his two halves of a coconut.**

 **What the** _ **fuck**_ **was going on? What had he done? What was everyone talking about?**

 **He had band practice with Adam Warlock in twenty minutes, so he headed back to his dorm room to rinse off some of the sweat and to get his guitar and music.**

 **He was just about to turn the corner when he heard his name. He paused. If there was one thing he'd learned at HYDRA, it was the importance of eavesdropping, especially if the information was about one's self.**

 **"So, you and Bucky, eh?" Falcon was saying to someone, sounding like he was teasing.**

 **"He didn't ask yet." Bucky's spine stiffened; that was** _ **Steve's**_ **voice. What was he supposed to have asked Steve? Damn it!**

 **"You sound surprisingly okay about that," Falcon said.**

 **"Well, he was busy, but he said he wanted to see me later, so I think he might have something special planned." Steve sounded ridiculously happy. "I'll bet he wrote a song or something and he'll ask me in that."**

 **There was a pause, then Falcon said "you know, you might be right. That's the kind of thing he'd do."**

 **"He's always been a romantic sap like that." The Captain's voice was absurdly fond. "Even when we were kids."**

 **Falcon laughed. "Yeah, he'll treat you right. And at the dance, he'll romance you silly."**

 **"Yeah," Steve sighed dreamily and Falcon laughed again.**

 **"C'mon man," he said, still chuckling. "Let's get to the Arena before Ares gets mad and makes us do sword swings all class."**

 **Bucky stood frozen for a few minutes after he heard them leave. Steve thought Bucky was going ask him to the upcoming dance—Steve** _ **wanted**_ **Bucky to ask him to the upcoming school dance.**

 **Where did this come from? Since when did Steve like Bucky in** _ **that**_ **way? And if he did, why was he waiting for Bucky to make a move? Where did he get the idea that Bucky was planning some big romantic gesture to ask him out? And what the hell was Bucky going to do?**

 **He** _ **could**_ **tell Steve this was all a mistake and he wasn't even planning to go to the dance at all, but he remembered how happy Steve had sounded when he talked to Falcon and how excited he had been outside of the Robo Dojo, and Bucky immediately discarded that idea. That would just be cruel. Besides, going out with Captain America and his sharp humour and his sweet sincere smile and his broad shoulders? …Yeah, there were worse ways to spend an evening.**

 **Maybe Bucky could talk Steve into wearing his gladiator costume.** _ **Mmmphf**_ **, those sandals wrapped around those calves and that short little skirt…**

 **In a flash, Bucky remembered a conversation he'd had with Wasp earlier that day. Suddenly, things fell into to place—why people were congratulating him, the reason why he'd been feeling like the butt of a joke all day, and why Steve was so convinced he was going to be asked to the dance. He hadn't** _ **meant**_ **for Wasp to take things that way, but if you tilted your head, squinted, and turned around until you were dizzy, his comment could be construed that way. And knowing Wasp…**

 **He hurried to band practice. "Let me see your phone. Please." He tacked on and held out his hand to Adam Warlock.**

 **Adam lifted his eyebrow, but reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "You don't look happy. He didn't…ya'know, reject you, did he? Because I don't believe that. He looks at you like training doesn't** _ **do**_ **it for him anymore, if you know what I mean. And why do you need my phone?"**

 **Bucky barely listened. He quickly scrolled through the messages and yup, there it was. Wasp had texted the majority of the campus, loudly announcing that Bucky planned to ask Steve to the upcoming dance and ladies, bring your cameras to capture so much hotness in one place!**

 **What a mess. And Bucky** _ **still**_ **didn't know what he could even do that would be up to Steve's standards.**

 **He sighed and handed Adam his phone back. "What?" He asked when the gold-skinned boy gave him a hard look.**

 **"I'm sorry he rejected you, but why did you need my phone?"**

 **"I was checkin' on something, and I was right. And Steve didn't reject me; I haven't asked."**

 **"Why not?" Adam wanted to know as Bucky pulled out his guitar and started to tune it. "He's really, really,** _ **really**_ **into you."**

 **"…It's complicated."**

 **"How? I mean, he likes you, you like him—what's the big deal?"**

 **Bucky sighed again. "Well, for starters, I wasn't gonna go to the dance in the first place."**

 **Adam's golden brow wrinkled slightly. "But Wasp said—"**

 **"And secondly, Wasp took a few things** _ **way**_ **out of context when she sent that message."**

 **"…Oh. That's not cool." Adam digested things for a moment before speaking again. "But, awkwardness aside, when are you going to ask him?"**

 **"I don't know." Bucky focused on strumming a few chords. "I don't know that I'm gonna."**

 **He didn't have to look up to know that the furrows in Adam's forehead had gotten deeper. "That makes no sense at all. You both like each other a lot, there's a school dance coming up—why wouldn't you?"**

 **Bucky sighed. "Because first, Wasp told** _ **everyone**_ **that I was gonna, even though I wasn't even planning on going, much less taking Steve to it. It'd be different if I was actually going to, but she's actin' under a false misconceptions. And I don't like the whole campus thinkin' they know what I'm gonna do before I even know."**

 **"What did you say to make her think that?"**

 **"I told her Captain America would be easy to ask out, 'cuz even if he turned you down, it'd be in the nicest way possible so it wouldn't hurt so much.** _ **I**_ **could even ask him out and he'd be cool with it. I also said that Steve was easy on the eyes, 'cuz he** _ **is**_ **."**

 **The corner of Adam's mouth twitched up. "Yeah, he really is."**

 **"And somehow, that became 'Bucky's gonna ask Steve out'."**

 **Adam hummed. "What were the other reasons?"**

 **Bucky picked at the strings of his guitar. "Steve thinks I'm gonna make some grand romantic gesture to ask him out. He's expectin' it, and I don't have anythin'. And even if I did, I don't think it'd be good enough for him." He didn't add 'and I'm not good enough for him', but he thought it.**

 **"We could change a few things in 'A Buck for a Widow'," Adam offered, "and I could play back-up for you."**

 **"Thanks, but no. I wrote that for Black Widow back when I thought I remembered her because we were a couple; I can't use that for Steve. It'd be embarrassing and not fair to him."**

 **"We could make Wasp plan a special party so you can ask him then."**

 **"She's a big part of why I'm in this mess in the first place—I don't want to involve her anymore. Besides, she'd spend the whole time filming us and texting our every move to everyone on campus."**

 **"True." The golden teen thought some more. "Have Iron Man fly over and drop a bunch of flower petals? No, don't say it—that's a** _ **terrible**_ **idea. Almost as bad as if you had Loki or Enchantress doing it."**

 **They sat there for a few more minutes, and then Adam sighed. "I don't know." He plucked a few strings on his own guitar. "Maybe you're going about this wrong."**

 **Bucky raised an eyebrow.**

 **"Maybe you shouldn't do a grand gesture. Just because the Cap's expecting it doesn't make it the right move. I mean…in a perfect world, how would you ask him out? Maybe you should go** _ **that**_ **route instead of doing what you think everyone else wants."**

 **Bucky chewed on his lip for a moment. In an ideal world, he'd not be the hot mess he was now due to HYDRA, and he wouldn't have to worry about asking out Steve because they would have been together ever since they met. He still would have make sure to do romantic things because he'd want Steve to know how important and precious he was, and Steve would be sweetly spoiled from all the attention.**

 **Still, Adam had a good point. "…Lemme think about that. Let's practice."**

 **Adam, thankfully, didn't push it. "Do you want to start with 'Shredded Arm' or 'Guillotine (Off With Their Heads!)'?"**

 **Bucky thought about Adam's suggestion all through the rest of their practice and all the way back to his dorm room. He didn't have to make a grand gesture. He could just…ask.**

 **Or…**

 **Or he could** _ **not**_ **ask Steve to the dance. He could ask Steve out on a** _ **real**_ **date, one that didn't have the entire campus watching them, didn't come from Wasp going crazy, and would be more meaningful for the two of them. Yeah, it probably meant not seeing Steve all dolled up (Steve's shoulders in a suit coat?** _ **Mmmphf!**_ **)—at least, not this time—but Steve was a sucker for sap and sentimentality and romanticism, so it would probably be okay.**

 **Bucky looks at the idea from a couple different locations. The library was out, the Shawarma Stand had potential, and the Arena of War was just a big 'no'. The hot tub, while fun, was a little** _ **too**_ **cliché and if one wanted to be honest, Bucky wasn't sure he could survive Steve-in-a-hot-tub. The Aquatic Park was out for similar reasons—wet, half-naked Steve, who would want to clown around and roughhouse? It was supposed to be their** _ **first date**_ **—Bucky knew he'd never get through that without embarrassing himself horribly and then Steve would never want to date him again and—**

 **Whoa, slow down there, soldier! Bucky told himself firmly. While it was** _ **fairly**_ **certain that Steve would say 'yes', he hadn't yet. Getting all worked up about possible future embarrassments was a waste of time and energy. Besides, this was** _ **Steve**_ **. Steve would say yes and Steve would never hold awkward moments against him (thought, maybe not such a bad idea after—get a** _ **grip**_ **on yourself, you pervert!).**

 **He surveyed the campus again. He thought about what Steve liked and where would be a good place to enjoy those things without the entire campus watching every move. Yeah, okay, there were some possibilities. He'd propose them to Steve and see which one he wanted to do the most.**

 **Bucky headed back outside, this time to find Steve. He didn't have to go far; Steve was talking to Hawkeye not far from the dorms. The archer spotted Bucky first and his smirk caused the super-solider to turn around.**

 **Steve's entire** _ **being**_ **lit up. "Hey, Bucky," he said, clearly trying for causal and missing by** _ **miles**_ **.**

 **"Hey," the archer added. "Nice to see you, but I promised Lucky a pizza, so I've gotta go. Have fun!"**

 **Bucky could see that Steve was practically** _ **vibrating**_ **as they were left alone. Maybe he should help the Captain get rid of some of that excess energy.**

 **So he raised his eyebrow in a cocky manner. "Race you to the top of Stark Tower," he said before darting off. Steve was the tiniest bit fast then he was (but he was proud to say he was the tiniest bit stronger than Steve), so he needed every edge he could get.**

 **Steve barked out a laugh in surprise. "Stark Tower is** _ **that**_ **way!" He called out, starting to run.**

 **"Not the Post-Apocalyptic one!"**

 **"Oh, you** _ **cheater**_ **!" Steve put on an extra burst of speed to try and catch up. He didn't sound put out about Bucky's misdirection; if anything, he sounded delighted.**

 **"Ha, I win!" Bucky panted as he pulled himself up next to the small lotus pool.**

 **"Did not, we tied!" Steve argued, slightly breathless for a different reason.**

 **"Just admit it, you lost because you can't keep up."**

 **"Even with you cheating, you still didn't win. It was a draw." Steve beamed at him.**

 **"If that's what helps you sleep at night, you keep telling yourself that that." Bucky settled down on one of the twisted branches and patted the spot next to him.**

 **Steve did not need to be asked twice. In a flash, he made himself comfortable and he made a sweet, soft sound of joyful surprise when Bucky slung his arm around his broad shoulders. He all but melted against the other teen.**

 **Bucky took a few moments to just enjoy the moment. Steve was warm and humming slightly with every pass of the brunet's fingers through his short blond hair, the sun was setting over the campus and washing it all in a reddish golden light, and there was nobody else up on the ruins of the tower with them. It was relaxing and nice.**

 **Still, he had come up here for a reason. "Hey, Steve."**

 **"Hmm?" The captain's voice was slow and happy, as if he was on some really good painkillers.**

 **"Whatcha doin' on Friday evening?"**

 **He felt Steve smile. "I dunno. I don't have any plans."**

 **"Well, I've got some ideas; maybe you want to join me?"**

 **"I think I could be persuaded to go to the dance," the blond said, almost right on top of his question.**

 **"I'm not going to the dance."**

 **Steve became very still. "What?"**

 **"Not gonna go. I'm not about to have the entire campus leering at us for our first date."**

 **Steve pulled away enough that he could see Bucky's face, which was too bad. It made Bucky's side cold. "What? But I thought…"**

 **There was a little furrow between the captain's brows. Bucky used his thumb to carefully smooth it out and watched how those long lashes fluttered down slightly. "When I take you out on our first date," he told the broad teen, "it's gonna be just the two of us. We not going to be on display for everyone else because while I do want to show you off, I want our first time to be something special just between you and me."**

 **"…** _ **Oh**_ **," Steve breathed out, eyes darkening. He swallowed hard. "Yeah, okay. Yeah."**

 **"Good," Bucky said softly. "So…Friday?"**

 **The blond was staring at his mouth, his own lips slightly parted. "Yeah, I'd like that."**

 **"Does about me picking you up at your dorm room around seven work for you?" Just because he could, he quickly ran his tongue over his bottom lip.**

 **Blue eyes tracked the movement almost obsessively. "…Yeah, that sounds like a plan." Steve leaned forwards slightly, tilting his face towards Bucky.**

 **"Wear something that you won't be embarrassed to have your ass handed to you in."**

 **"Okay." Steve inched a little closer.**

 **"'Cuz I plan to kick your ass at least half of the time."**

 **"…Okay." Steve's eyes hadn't moved from the Winter Soldier's mouth. It was more than a little flattering, but Bucky had** _ **plans**_ **now and while still he couldn't believe this was really happening, he was going to make sure that he did everything right so Steve wouldn't catch on that Bucky was nowhere** _ **near**_ **good enough for him.**

 **"And after, we could go get some shawarma after."**

 **"Yeah," the blond breathed, his body language not telegraphing hopefully desperate interest so much as it** _ **blasted**_ **it.**

 **"Steve," Bucky murmured gently as Steve lifted his face so their mouths were not even an inch apart. "what kind of guy do you take me for? Lemme take you out first."**

 **The captain let out a sound that he would vehemently deny was a whine later, so Bucky took pity on the guy. He rubbed the tip of his nose against Steve's, hoping that he'd remember the saucy little song that Bucky's grandmother used to sing.**

 **At least, Bucky was pretty sure it was his grandmother. It could have been a great-aunt or the little old lady next door, but the point remained.**

 **"** _ **…Oh**_ **," And then Steve was responding, following Bucky's example and nuzzling back. "Buck," he all but gasped. "** _ **Bucky**_ **."**

 **"Shhh…I've got you," Bucky soothed. He gently untangled Steve's hand from where it was clutching at his shirt and braided their fingers together. He rested his forehead against the other teens and just breathed him in.**

 **The captain took a few deep breathes and obviously was working on calming himself down. He sighed a few moments later. "It's going to get dark soon," he said regretfully and with only a hint of breathiness to his voice. "We should climb down before we can't see anything."**

 **"Speak for yourself," Bucky retorted, feeling lighter than he'd felt in a long time. Still, Steve had a point. Regretfully, he let go of Steve's hand and hopped down. He turned and offered a hand to the blond.**

 **Blushing, Steve accepted it and slid off the branch. His ears darkened when Bucky didn't let go of his hand as they started down, but his smile was equal part shyness and utter joy. And with how much Steve was glowing, they could have easily stayed out long past dark and not had a problem.**

 **Once they reached the dorms, Bucky lifted Steve's hand and quickly brushed a gentle kiss across slightly scarred knuckles before letting it go. "So…Friday at seven?"**

 **The captain's eyes were dark again. "Buck," he all but whined, "stop teasin' me."**

 **"Sweetheart, I'd** _ **never**_ **tease you," Bucky promised. He leaned in. "I'd never leave you hanging. But…building anticipation? I'd do that."**

 **"You're a jerk," Steve said and dear god, how had Bucky missed the absolute** _ **fondness**_ **and utter** _ **besotted**_ **tone of voice for all this time?**

 **He didn't know what the other boy saw in him, but he wasn't going to squander that gift.**

 **"Yeah, but I'm hopefully gonna be** _ **your**_ **jerk, so you're going to have to get used to it."**

 **Steve practically** _ **radiated**_ **happiness. "I guess I'll have to," he agreed, a bit breathily.**

 **They stood there, smiling at each other dopily for a few more moments before Bucky made himself let go of Steve's hand. "I'll see you later, okay?"**

 **"Yeah, okay." Steve looked at him with those big blue eyes and Bucky couldn't resist.**

 **He leaned in and murmured "And Steve? I'm planning to wear my black tank top." He lifted his eyebrow to indicated which one that was (Window always muttered that he could achieve the same effect with black paint and it would save him the worry of losing circulation).**

 **Steve's eyes widened and then glazed over. "…** _ **oh**_ **."**

 **Bucky left him standing there in the doorway, feeling smug. Maybe he owed Wasp a 'thank you' after all.**

 _ **x Fin x**_


End file.
